New USDA Guidelines Praise Vegetarian Diets

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The guidelines are issued by the US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services and serve as a guide for any nutritional initiatives like public school lunches, etc. The guidelines are updated every five years; these guidelines were just issued last week.

It is a big step forward to have the federal government acknowledging the health benefits of a plant-based diet. The guidelines include the following: “Vegetarian-style eating patterns have been associated with improved health outcomes — lower levels of obesity, a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, and lower total mortality. Several clinical trials have documented that vegetarian eating patterns lower blood pressure.”

The guidelines contain warnings about obesity and an overconsumption of saturated fat which have been mainstay concerns for health care providers and the federal government for years. However, while the guidelines do have a lot of positive things to say about plant-based diets for those who choose them, they don’t actually make a formal recommendation for everyone to stop eating meat.

We have to remember the lobbies of the animal agriculture industry, of course.

The writing has been on the wall for years and the federal government is finally opening its eyes. If you want to lower your chance of cancer, heart disease and obesity, make the transition to a vegan diet. It might be the smartest decision you ever make.

For too long commercial interests have been producing what is profitable for them to produce rather than what is healthier and more ethical for the population to produce. Food is one example, tobacco another.